Sleazy - O. mercatoris

Very cool interaction, I am learning so much. Your threads are like watching a documentary. What size tank is Sleezy in? My biocube has that curved glass too, it makes me dizzy. I am really Jones'n now. Great one-handed photos I might add.
 
The tank is a 15 hex acrylic with a Skilter combo skimmer cascade filter (the only skimmer we could find to fit the modified (with a hack saw) tank, the light is an outdoor fixture with a plug added so that it is not hardwired and the lens is painted red on the sides with red velum on the bottom surface. I change out 5 full gallons weekly.

Sometimes I worry that people will expect too much from the octopuses, especially the mercs because the time lapse is not naturally obvious. Just this one page is over a two month period but reading through seems like she has accepted humans after a much shorter period and has interacted a lot. I try to stess that mercs are shy and many (most) don't interact at all. It also takes a lot of time that seems unproductive before you see any results and people give up too quickly. I think having them in the eating area helps. None of my briareus have been as interactive and touch responsive as some of the others but the ones in the breakfast room have all at least come out at dinner time after awhile.

She took my finger again last night but this time did not pull at all. Only one exploratory touch and then she blew for me to go away (I use this for her sign for hands out of the tank - something I establish with each octo but is different for each one). I am never sure where the interaction will lead but it is always a thrill to get past the grabbing and see that they recognize they can send me away.
 
Linda, you have a long way to go yet. They ARE in charge, we are the slaves. We buy, prepare and bring the food, clean up their homes and spend untold amounts of money all in hopes they will accept us. Have you not seen this as an aspect of all pets yet?
 
:lol::lol::lol: Wait, are you talking about octopuses or childeren?? I guess that applies to both. (and all pets except for dogs, they live to please us) You got me, what a stupid thing for me to say. I actually believed it when I typed it. :roll:
 
My brother just turned the big 5-0, he has 3 grown childeren. Divorced 17 years ago, has new girlfriend, she is expecting. The poor devil, he'll be near 70 when this one graduates highschool. Eventaully grow up and leave...if he lives long enough. So your saying....what are you saying? Just kidding, it's all just about responsibility, we all have so many already, and we must long for more or we wouldn't keep tanking on more. I am getting tired just thinking about all I still have to do today, it's water change day.
 
This is the other, single arm between the eyes (vs the double arms between the eyes above) typical mercatoris pose.

Sleazy just sits around eating bon-bons and watching the human TV. We never see her leave the den but she takes food, sometimes from our fingers and sometimes from a stick (depending on who is feeding and what we feed, she thinks crab claws are candy and takes one even if not hungry).

The barnacle den really works well placed about mid water column. She is easy to find, easy to feed and relatively easy to photograph. She is comfortable enough with her surroundings that she rarely puts anything in the den opening, even during the day. At night she come to the front of the den far enough that her arms and eyes are out of the shell.

I tried a new oyster that Kara was offering and think I am going to put a bunch in the merc tank next time she goes collecting them. So far these two are doing well in the small tank and add a little life to a pretty boring tank. It turns out that my mantis find them irresistable but the merc has shown no interest (when I get more I will experiment with the larger octos in hopes that they will open and eat them). If both the mantis and the octos will eat them I am going to recommend that she offer a package deal for feeding octos and/or mantis. Does anyone know if smasher mantis will eat decorator crabs or mithrax?
 

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Sci-Fi Monster, Octopus grows claws

... or so it looked when I saw this.
 

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Sleazy - 5 months

Not much to report except she is starting to not want to eat. Some days she will take her food offering but then throw it out when we are not watching, like a kid feeding liver to the dog :roll:. She was likely around 5-7 months old when she came so this is likely the beginning of the end. I wish I had looked harder for a little male now but not only are they out of season, sexing one is just not viable through male order. She is still a little cutie and has her one little trick to acknowledge people (she sweeps her arm out of her shell, particularly when she is aware of a stranger, odd but cute).
 

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Sleazy is in her final stages and stopped eating about two weeks ago. I suspect she is brooding infertile eggs but, like my other mercs, I can't see into her den to observe.
 
Sleazy died sometime this afternoon. I think she exited her den on her own but tumbled the structure on the way out. I saw her very close to the edge early afternoon and noted how shrunken her suckers appeared. At supper, I saw the tumbled rocks and found her away from the rockfall but she had been dragged under by some of the brissels. It was odd because I noticed a particularly large brissel poking an inch or so of its body out in the daylight while she was still in her den and alive. They did not approach her den but obviousl knew dinner was not far off. She has been with me for 6 months. She did not do much but sit in her den but Neal and I were both attached to her and will miss her presence.
 

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